Two men, who slashed another in Geylang, were each sentenced to three years and six months in jail and six strokes of the cane on Tuesday.

New Say Heong, a newspaper vendor, and Oi Boon San, both 43, admitted last month to causing grievous hurt to Mr Teo Chye Lye, 48, by slashing him on his back, the back of his head, arms and legs multiple times.

The attack took place along Lorong 17 Geylang at around 1am on Jan 4. The court heard that New found out about a dispute that arose between his acquaintance and the victim. He related this to his friend, Oi, and both decided to teach the victim a lesson.

The duo, each armed with a bread knife that was concealed, confronted the victim who was at a coffeeshop at Lorong 17. Without warning, New approached the victim aggressively and started slashing him at his head. Oi followed suit.

The victim tried to run to get help but collapsed a short distance away in front of a mobile phone shop. The pair continued slashing him repeatedly even after the victim had collapsed.

Part of the assault was captured by two nearby closed-circuit television cameras.

Both men fled the scene after the assault. They later bought a set of new clothes at Mustafa Centre to change and threw the knives and bloodied clothes into the Kallang River.

The victim suffered numerous cuts on his body and a left leg fracture.

Each could have been jailed for up to 15 years.